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USF Marine Science Eminent Scholar Lecture Series April 5 – 6

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 28, 2012) – Some of the world’s leading experts on climate change, marine environments and ocean mapping will take the stage at USF’s College of Marine Science for the annual Eminent Scholar Lecture Series, April 5-6.

All lectures are free and open to the public and held at the Karen A. Steidinger Auditorium at the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Ave. S.E. in St. Petersburg.

Josh Willis, a scientist with NASA’s jet propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology who is part of the international Jason-3 project, will speak on global warming and rising seas at 1:30 p.m., Thursday. Willis’ work on the role of the ocean in the Earth's climate system as the planet’s climate changes and his analysis and development of new techniques for studying oceanographic data sets have led to some of the most important scientific findings of the times.

His lecture will be followed by a 3:15 p.m. talk by Eileen Hofman, a professor of oceanography at the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University. Hofman will speak on the challenges facing southern ocean food webs based on her work in the Antarctic. Hofman has collaborated on research expeditions to the Antarctic with USF Professor Jose Torres, who studies the impact of climate change on fish who are a key food source for Antarctic penguins.

On Friday at 1:30 p.m., Larry Meyer, director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire will speak on “New Directors for Ocean Mapping: From D-Day to Deepwater Horizon”. Meyer research focuses on sonar imaging, remote characterization of the seafloor, and advanced applications of 3-D visualization to ocean mapping.

Bill Landing of Florida State University’s Department of Oceanography will round out the series with a 3:15 p.m. talk on the origins of bioactive trace elements in the Pacific Ocean. Trace elements may limit biological productivity at low concentrations and can be toxic at only slightly elevated concentrations.